The Internet, the Web, and Algorithms

Abstract

The Internet and the worldwide web, unlike all other computational artifacts, were not deliberately designed by a single entity, but emerged from the complex interactions of many. As a result, they must be approached very much the same way that cells, galaxies or markets are studied in other sciences: By speculative (and falsifiable) theories trying to explain how selfish algorithmic actions could have led to what we observe. I present several instances of recent work on this theme, with several collaborators.